Hi everyone, I'm a new fan fiction writer and so far I have one story out (http://www.ficwad.com/viewstory.php?sid=10871)
And I was wondering if anyone out there could help me with decribing things, mainly clothes and characters. And I also need help with adding details into my decriptions so it is more descriptive and detailed. Read my story and you will see I didn't really do a good job with describing.
(Also, it would be really helpful if you guys would read and review my story, that is if you are interested in GetBackers. I need a boost in moral. Thanks)

The first thing I always consider is if the descriptor would forward/benefit the plot. Samurai Champloo, for example, they're looking for a Samurai that smells like sunflowers. So scent is important to the overall story. Window dressing can be nice, but the most important thing for a writer to do is to constantly drive their story forward.

Now, one of my favorite writers is a Modernist, so I'll admit my biases right off the bat. I'm a sucker for sparse, concise writing. When describing characters, I prefer to let their words and actions speak for them more than the color of their hair. Unless a character is obsessive about their appearance down to the last eyelash or a total slob, generally, what they look like doesn't have a huge impact on the story.

Too often, I see an otherwise excellent story bogged down with so many superfluous descriptors I can't read it. I really could care less about what shade of periwinkle the carpet is, just knowing that it's carpet and not a linoleum floor is enough for me, my imagination will carry it to the next step.

It's definitely a balance. You want enough description so that the characters aren't floating some void or black hole. But you don't want a complete rundown of measurement, color, scent, sound, texture, precise architecture style, etc so that it overwhelms a reader.

The first thing I always consider is if the descriptor would forward/benefit the plot. Samurai Champloo, for example, they're looking for a Samurai that smells like sunflowers. So scent is important to the overall story. Window dressing can be nice, but the most important thing for a writer to do is to constantly drive their story forward.

Now, one of my favorite writers is a Modernist, so I'll admit my biases right off the bat. I'm a sucker for sparse, concise writing. When describing characters, I prefer to let their words and actions speak for them more than the color of their hair. Unless a character is obsessive about their appearance down to the last eyelash or a total slob, generally, what they look like doesn't have a huge impact on the story.

Too often, I see an otherwise excellent story bogged down with so many superfluous descriptors I can't read it. I really could care less about what shade of periwinkle the carpet is, just knowing that it's carpet and not a linoleum floor is enough for me, my imagination will carry it to the next step.

It's definitely a balance. You want enough description so that the characters aren't floating in some void or black hole. But you don't want a complete rundown of measurement, color, scent, sound, texture, precise architecture style, etc so that it overwhelms a reader.

Posted at 2006-03-13 10:32

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